TN Dad Failed to Prove Mom’s Shortcomings Negatively Impacted Children
Tennessee law case summary on changing custody in family law from the Court of Appeals.
Virginia Grace Massey-Holt vs. Stacy Wade Holt – changing custody in Tennessee law
From 2004 to 2007, the two children of Virginia Grace Massey-Holt and Stacy Wade Holt moved several times, as a result of parental relocation, as a result of custody modification, and as a result of reversal of custody modification.
The Parties were divorced in 2004, including a Marital Dissolution Agreement and a Permanent Parenting Plan. Originally, the Mother was the primary residential parent of the Parties’ two children, and the Parents lived only eight miles apart. The schedule of the Children was near equal time for each Parent. The agreement was for joint custody and specifically required that educational decision be made jointly.
A mere two months after the divorce, the Mother accepted a nursing job that required her relocation with the Children some 35-miles away from her residence at the time of the divorce. The move necessitated a change of school enrollment for the Children. The work shifts of the Mother also necessitated childcare three days/week and sometimes on the weekends.
Under Tennessee law, the Mother was within her rights to relocate up to 100-miles without prior approval from the other parent or a court order. This created a collision between the joint custodial terms of the Parents’ Permanent Parenting Plan and the law. After two years of litigation, the final ruling was issued on appeal endorsing the Mother’s right to relocate as superior to the terms of the Parents’ Permanent Parenting Plan for joint custody.
There were weaknesses in the Father’s presentation at court, which were emphasized in the appellate opinion. First, the Father did not submit a written proposal for the Children between the Parents, if they came to primarily reside with him. The Mother did submit such a plan, and it was the one adopted by the appeals court.
Second, the Father was his only witness. Although he described his support group of family and friends, no one came in to testify on his behalf. The Mother had the benefit, described by the appellate court, of having already served for a period of years by the time of the appeal as the primary residential parent.
Third, the Father made allegations about the Mother’s lifestyle, but did not present evidence of any negative effect on the Children. The Tennessee appellate courts are clear in their philosophy that negative allegations must be supported by evidence and that evidence must be directly linked to negative effects upon the children. While trial courts may appear more cautious in their approach, trial courts are dealing with live people, credibility determinations, and judgment calls. Once a case enters the appeals process, it is a paper review and it s largely concerned with how close a trial decision can be said to tie in to legal principles.
Two questions must be answered by judges when a parent files a custody modification case, and these were outlined in the appellate decision. The parent requesting the modification must first establish a material change of circumstances, such as a failure to adhere to the parenting plan. Then, the petitioning parent must show that the material change of circumstances affects the children’s best interests, such as a change in school performance, health, or other significant indicator.
While both Parents in the Holt case agreed that the original parenting plan needed to be changed, the appeals court determined that a need to change the parenting schedule did not equate to a need to change custody.
No. M2006-02714-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 31, 2007).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
For more information about changing custody, see How to Change Custody in Tennessee.
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